SHIMLA:  The blame game between the ruling Congress and BJP over Himachal’s Financial Mess Continues unabetted,  with Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur today blaming Congress for this saying that It has been in power 10 times  in the state”.  

Talking to the media persons, Thakur said Congress leaders are saying different things. Chief Minister is putting all those figures together in the public.

Jai Ram Thakur said it has been 2 months since Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu became the Chief Minister, the Finance Department of the state must have kept the true report of financial condition in front of him.

He said manner in which he is repeatedly presenting the figure of loan among the public, it is completely wrong.

He claimed when the BJP government was in Himachal Pradesh, this loan was about 70 thousand crores. Now this loan has not even reached 75 thousand crores, but the Congress Chief Minister is repeatedly singing the tune of 95 thousand crores, he charged.

“Congress is only trying to create an atmosphere. I would like to tell that the Congress government has been in power in Himachal Pradesh for 10 times and the BJP government has been in power for 5 times, so the biggest culprit in taking loans is the Congress party”, Thakur said passing  the buck on Congress party.

When the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh, had a loan of 50 thousand crores in Himachal Pradesh.

He claimed the employees are clearly saying that the situation in Himachal Pradesh is not good, even when there was an epidemic of Covid-19 in the time of BJP, the salary of the employees was given on time and it was not delayed even for a single day.

“Today the situation is opposite, we had given UGC pay scale in Himachal Pradesh in a big way, which was even before Punjab, yet it has not been implemented in Punjab, our college professors are taking advantage of it”.

The Congress party is not even able to answer the salary discrepancy of 2012, now that the Congress party is in power, they  will have to answer these salary discrepancies”, he claimed.

Now it is being heard that there is a discussion going on to close 386 educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh and a case has also been sent to the cabinet regarding that.

“If the Congress party has to implement its 10 guarantees, then they need to do resource management for it, not try to close government institutions”.

“If OPS is to be implemented, then its formula should be brought among the public”.

He said Congress leaders have been demanding for 4 years that we will improve the financial condition of the state, but if the kind of promises they are making, then the financial condition of Himachal will not improve for 40 years.

This government has not yet been able to release even the last installment of 50 lakhs of the MLA Area Development Fund, which is dedicated to the public on the demand of the public, he said.

It has  yet to release the January installment, but now February has come, he said.  But till now the file has not come back, we had increased this amount from 1.80 crores to 2 crores in our time and also released its 3 installments”, he claimed.

Jai Ram Thakur charged that  the government is also raising question marks regarding Atal Vardi Yojana and trying to create hurdles in Him Care Scheme which is benefiting lakhs of people. Many clinics were attached with it, they have also been denotified, he added.

Similarly, Ayushman Bharat scheme, which is a direct central government scheme, has been put in cold storage. Same is the case with Mandi's Shivdham Phase 3, Mandi Airport, State University Mandi.

Two cement factories are locked in Himachal, due to which Himachal Pradesh has suffered a loss of more than 150 crores, but the government has failed to resolved the dispute, Thakur said.

He said this government is really a government of waiting: employees are waiting for OPS notification, women are waiting for 1500 rupees, youth are waiting for 5 lakh jobs, people are waiting for 300 units of electricity free .

The payment of tenders has been stopped in the Public Works Department, the contractors are being asked to join the Congress party and only after that they have been asked to release their remaining payments, the same is happening in other departments.

This is creating an atmosphere of instability in Himachal Pradesh.

The horticulture  minister Jagat Singh Negi has said that gardeners will not be able to decide the rates of their crops, Thakur said.

But the farmers are still waiting how the government will do this, he said.